Steps

In Kiev, we enjoyed a brief but precious time with Jason & Kerri Gupta. Jason was one of my classmates at Dallas Theological Seminary. Since he comes from an Indian background, one might have expected that he and his wife would have chosen to serve somewhere in South Asia.Instead, they were called to the Eastern European nation of Ukraine to help support the Church through leadership training. It’s just another wonderful example of members in the Body of Christ being willing to go outside of comfort zones and cross barriers to see the Kingdom of God expanded amongst the nations.

(Image: Left to right – Scott, Jason, Kerri & Paul in the Gupta’s apartment in Kiev)

Meanwhile, in Nepal, Jenny Gist and Rachel Wiley are currently serving with one of our special friends, Pastor Krishna Pariyar, who, along with his wife, cares for many orphaned and abandoned children in Kathmandu. Jenny and Rachel will be there in Nepal for the next two months. You can follow their journey at the newly-created World Orphans Travelers (WOT?) blog. On a related note, you can also view one of our stories here about a little street girl, Sabena, that we tried to rescue while spending time with Krishna last year.

(Image: Pastor Krishna (left) with some of the children he and his wife have rescued in Kathmandu)

Whether it’s serving as a career vocational missionary or going as a short-termer, God uses and develops people as they step into areas of great physical and spiritual need, especially when such steps take them into vastly different worldviews and experiences.

For me, I relish interacting with other peoples. I relish seeing the work with orphaned and abandoned children in different geographical and cultural contexts. To be bound in unity in the Spririt and serving a common goal – God’s glory through the assistance of discarded and vulnerable children – shatters differences and brings joy to the soul.